Archive for February, 2007

Welcome to the game log of the MIAA A Boys Title Game between Towson Catholic (27-4) and McDonogh (22-7). The Owls of T.C. ripped through the MIAA with a perfect 16-0 regular season mark, then destroyed St. Frances in the semi finals by 35. McDonogh though offered some resistance to the Owls, losing by just a single point in their last meeting (however, likely McDonald’s All-American Donte Green did not play).

Gilman Prep plays host for tonight’s festivities with a great venue. A retro feel but the gym’s not yet 20 years old. Our first controversy of the night comes with the ball. Too much air in a brand new, just out of the wrapper, MIAA logo’d beauty. Sounds great, but a brand new ball can be slick. A special order job released some air, and now we may begin.

7:15 PMJust over half way through the first quarter, and I think they need to let a little more air out of the Wilson. Several ball handling mistakes that clearly were caused the ball simply bouncing too high. Enough of ball-gate though, the Owls when not struggling are spectacular. Their 2-1-2 zone press wreaks havoc. Joe Yermal opened the scoring for the Eagles, but since then TC has fone ona a 14-1 run. Donte Green looks highly motivated, maybe a little point to prove after the last game that he missed. 14-3 Owls at the 3:35 mark.

7:25 PMThe Donte Green show could run for a long time on or off Broadway. He passes, he rebounds, he blocks shots, and he scores in spectacular fashion. 11 points in the 1st quarter alone for Donte, that matches McDOnogh’s team output. 21-11 after one, but the Eagles earned a little momentum. Brandon Herbert beat the buzzer with a three to end the quarter.

7:35 PMThe Eagles make their move. A couple of stops on defense and a barrage of makes have McDonogh now down seven 30-23 at the 3:40 mark of the 2nd quarter. Joe Yermal and Herbert have the mostly pro-McDonogh crowd into the game for the first time. They may not win tonight, but they play with no fear. You get the feeling though that D. Green, anytime the Owls need something special, he’s ready.

7:45 PMConsider the move countered. Just after I clicked publish for my last post the Donte Green Show morphed into the Malcolm Delaney show. Steals and scores aplenty have the Owls up 39-26 at the break. That said, outside of some major league talent, TC’s best weapon is its depth. The Owls go nine or ten deep, allowing their pressure to mirror that of Simon Cowell on Idol, with the same level of civility. Donte Green led all scorers with 13, Delaney has 12, and Joe Yermal for the Eagles has 11.

7:58 PMTowson Catholic just ran a fast break of which the ’84 Lakers would be proud. Donte Green grabs a rebound, explodes down court… no looks to Leshon Edwards, who throws it over his head to Larry Bastfield for the reverse finish. Seriously, I can’t believe I’m watching high school basketball. The Eagles have had several good looks this quarter but on five straight three point attempts, they hit back iron. at the 2:31 mark of the 3rd TC has this one under control 49-27.

8:08 PMThe Owls only scored 12 points in the 3rd quarter, yet their lead grew by six. Suffocating defense from a fresher TC team has quieted the crowd. McDonogh has played tough but took another blow to their limited depth. 6th man Jared Jorgenson suffered a blow to the head knocking woosily to the court. He left under his own power but I do not envy the headache he’ll endure tomorrow. McDonogh’s Joe Yermal also suffered what appears to be a minor injury, no doubt scary for him though as he prepares for a collegiate baseball career at UNC-Charlotte. with 4:20 left in the 4th, TC leads 62-38.

8:25 PMAfter winning the MIAA A Championship tournament, outscoring their opponents in two games by a combined 57 points, no doubt exists about who’s number one. Towson Catholic dominated for about 28 of the 32 minutes tonight claiming their first conference crown in six years. 71-49 your final from Gilman. Donte Green led all scorers with 19, Malcolm Delaney tallied 16, Brandon Herbert paced the Eagles with 16. The celebration at center court is full of dancing that makes me understand just how old I’ve become. I have no idea what they’re doing, but the Owls are having fun. The season though continues for both this Sunday in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament, and then for Towson Catholic, a likely trip to western Maryland for the legendary Alhambra Tournament.

Now that my fingers are well rested, game two. The Anne Arundel County girls basketball championship gives us the 2nd seed Old Mill (19-3) and the top seed Arundel (18-3). The Lady Wildcats didn’t lose a league game this season but as every writer or sportscaster will tell you come tournament time, no matter how cliché, it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. That the task for Arundel tonight. The students sections from the last game have cleared out but many fans remain and a host of new ones crowd the bleachers. My ears are stinging during player introductions.. And now we tip..

7:28 PM

Halfway through the first quarter floor burns come in bunches, points do not. At the 4:00 minute mark we’re tied at four but I am a little star struck. Arundel freshman Sherrone Vails stands at 6’3”, has a soft touch and all of her team’s points. I can’t believe she’s only in 9th grade. In fact the Wildcats have just one senior on the squad. Vails also blocked a pair of shots in succession, from two different people, on two different sides of the paint. That’s special.7:38 PM

At the end of one quarter Arundel owns a 10-6 lea. Vails leads all scorers with seven points. Charelle Brook has the only field goal for Old Mill, but it was a beauty, as she knocked down a three from about 22 feet. I don’t see the Lady Wildcats blowing this one open, the Lady Patriots play too tough defense for that. However, they need to find some scoring in a hurry.

7:50 PM

Now we’re seeing the type of game that earned these two a trip to the championship. Shots either go in or find themselves blocked. Nothing comes easy for either side. The Lady Patriots sill haven’t hit that many but prove solid from the line with more than half their points coming with the clock stopped. Ashley Davis for Arundel also catches the eye. She is crazy quick, already offering us a Baryshnykov like save and she’s knocked down a couple of jumpers. Kiara Thomas for Old Mill keeps the game close with six 2nd quarter points. At the 1:51 mark of the 2nd 22-18 Arundel.

7:58 PM

We hit the half with a bang. Sharrone Vails, with .5 seconds left knocks down a little jumper off the inbounds to give Arundel at 25-22 lead at the break. Vails put up 11 first half points while the Lady Patriots’ hot hand belonged to Kiara Thomas as she finishes with eight. After trailing by eight midway through the 2nd quarter, Old Mill rallied thanks to the energy of senior guard Ashley Jones. She puts up a fight of which Laila Ali would be proud.8:04 PM

While at the half I’ll take a moment to stand high atop my soap box. In the boys title game during a timeout the PA System played the Rock ‘N Roll Anthem that entices fans to take part with their own chant during the chorus of “YOU SU*&” and “WE’RE GONNA BEAT THE *ELL OUT OF YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU.” Obviously it’s poor sportsmanship, but the high school kids got it watching the college kids. Although at Comcast Center they no longer play the song to prevent the cheer. That’s not my problem tonight, a long time ago I did the exact same kind of thing. But the problem comes when I look into the crowd as it’s happening and SEE PARENTS TAKING PART!!!! What the heck kind of message is that???? And we wonder why kids sometimes act poorly. Now I climb down from Mt. Superior.

8:25 PM

The 3rd quarter was a track meet and Arundel has more speed. Great effort from both teams, and plenty of scoring, but the Lady Wildcats really seemed to wear down Old Mill by quarter’s end. They opened up a 47-36 lead behind eight points in the 3rd from Brittany Watts and six in the quarter from Ayanna Randolph. But watching Ashley Jones implore her team to keep fighting, Old Mill won’t go away anytime soon.

8:35 PM

Halfway through the 4th quarter and Arundel just wrapped up an 11-0 run to go up 58-40. Too much depth for the Lady Wildcats and sophomore Ashley Davis can’t miss she just banged home her 3rd three pointer of the game.

8:45 PM

The Arundel Lady Wildcats claim the Anne Arundel County championship with at 66-52 win over Old Mill. Ashley Davis led all scorers with 21 points. Sherrone Vails finished with 13 points and four blocks. Ashley Jones poured in 14 for the Lady Patriots. I loved watching these girls play hard to the final buzzer. There was no concession until five seconds remained. The rivalry was fierce but respectful. Again, sorry this didn’t transmit live, but we’ll keep on trying. Thanks for logging on.

Thanks for checking out the game logs for the Anne Arundel County Championship games at Meade H.S. Unfortunately, as you read now the games are over. A cell signal that you’d expect somewhere in rural Malaysia prevents my wireless connection to the internet inside the high school. That said, I’ll treat this just like any other game log (glog) and hope you take the time to read on. The kids deserve it, and I’ll try to earn it.

The boys game goes first. Annapolis (18-4) vs. Broadneck (20-2) and we expect the world out of this one. Broadneck earned the top seed but it was Annapolis that ended the Bruins perfect season last month with a one pont win.

5:18 PM

5:00 into the game and the Panthers, maybe buoyed by a far larger student contingent, play with greater energy and the kids are filling up the nets. Steve Hodney already has a pair of threes as Annapolis owns a 14-7 lead. Panther head coach John Brady earlier this season became the regions all time winningest coach. You can see why. Of course, we’ve only just begun.

5:24 PM

This one’s fun. An atmosphere you’d expect for a title game, but are surprised to find given the early tip off. Broadneck head coach Jon Williams will coach the county team for the Charm City Classic and he has the Rick Pitino look down. Nice threads, but the hair is more of a Dick Vitale thing. At the end on one the Bruins rallied some but still trail 19-15.

5:33 PM

The game grows tighter. Both teams run offenses, but rarely more than three passes are made before a shot. Not bad shots mind you, the score backs that up. Broadneck’s J.J. Hicks and Annapolis’ Lateef Williams are as good as advertised, but the star of the show so far is the Panthers’ Steve Hodney. Four three pointers and we still have 3:00 left in the first half. 26-25 Annapolis.5:40 PM

Momentum finds a friend in Annapolis. The Panthers end the half on a 7-1 run, nearly a 10-1 run as Hodney’s three at the buzzer rimmed out. The roof would have shot off the gym if that one had rattled home. So the Panthers feel good, but the Bruins left the court with frowns. Hicks picked up his 2nd foul of the game, an intentional on a breakaway that sent him to the bench. Hodney leads all scorers with 12 while Mike Atkins paces the Bruins with 11. 33-26 at the break.

5:58 PM

The 3rd quarter is a two man show.. Mike Atkins for the Bruins catches fire to equal that of Hodney’s run in the first. With 2:49 left in the quarter he’s up to 20 points for the game. Draining threes, blocking shots, firing up the Broadneck fans (who may now be heard). For the Panthers, David Chapman takes center stage. He is Red Bull powerful. All two point buckets of the, don’t even think of messing with me cause it don’t matter, variety. 44-44 is your score.

6:06 PM

At the end of three we’re back where we started. A tie game at 48 and I feel privileged to be here. The keep having to expand the bleachers as Meade HS fills to the rim. Nobody’s in foul trouble so all the players should have their say in who wins this one.

6:18 PM

At the 3:16 mark of the 4th, the Bruins held a five point lead and Jon Williams had them go into a stall with the ball. Not that it’s fun to watch, but a great strategy for this game. Annapolis has only two fouls in the half. They can kill the clock and not have to worry about free throws for a while.

6:23 PM

It sounds so easy, “just kill the clock”. Kind of like “Britney, just don’t shave your head”. Easy. But with the intensity and pressure of a title game mounting nothing is easy. Think about it, the winner gets a minimum of 365 days of bragging rights and a lifetime memory. The Panthers turned it over twice and Lateef Williams made four free throws. 59-58 Broadneck with 1:00 to play and the Panthers have the ball. This game deserves nothing less than a fantastic finish.

6:34 PM

That’s a shame. Charles James hit two clutch free throws for Broadneck to give the Bruins a 61-58 lead with 17 seconds left. So down three, and with the ball, the Panthers go to their go to guy Lateef Williams. He played hard all game, and wonderfully down the stretch. But with five seconds left he drove to the basket for an uncontested layup, thus allowing the clock to run out and the Bruins to win 61-60. It’s not a shame that Broadneck won, just the disappointment I’m sure Lateef will feel for a long time.

Steve Hodney led the Panthers wth 18 points, David Chapman finished with 17.

Mike Atkins brought the Bruins back and finished with a game high 23 points and a new fan in me. He’s a warrior. Just like his teammate J.J. Hicks, he saved his best play for the 4th quarter, finishing with 16 points. The season though doesn’t end for either team as both will play in the State Tournament.

7:10 PMWelcome to the MIAA “A” quarterfinal between Loyola (16-9) and St. Frances (21-8) What can we expect? My guess is as good as former Director of the Fed Alan Greenspan. He has no idea either. Early in January St. Frances rolled over the Dons 69-46. But just two weeks ago, the Panthers needed triple overtime to dispatch Loyola 59-57. Tip off is just minutes away.

7:22 PMThe snow storm that caused school to close for a few days this week has the players a little out of synch. You may add the refs to the sluggishness. It took three jump balls just to start the game. Everyone kind of playing carefully, and there is very little scoring. At the 3:00 minute mark of the 1st quarter, game tied at two.

7:31 PMThe last three minutes saw the Panthers come to life, and they prevented the Dons from joining. Smothering quickness and plenty of inside presence from 6’6″ senior forward Aric Brooks has St. Frances up 13-2 after one quarter of play. An observation now, Panthers senior guard Desmond Thomas makes the left lane of the Autobahn look slow. He’s so quick, you barely see his hands move. You’re left watching a blur. I will call him the Magician. David Blaine wishes his hands were that fast.

7:45 PMLoyola played far better the 2nd quarter. Offensively Josh Devalli’s screen and cut system was efficiently run and the Dons started getting some good shots. They were only outscored 13-12 in the quarter. That said, the Panthers dominance inside and tenacious defense leaves Loyola shaking its collective head. St. Frances head coach William Wells has his kids schooled beautifully in the arts of pressure defense. Aric Brooks now has 11 points to lead the Panthers to a half time cushion of 26-14. Matt Rum paces the Dons with 5 points.

8:02 PMAs I recently heard uttered in the TV-11 Sports office “Wowie Wow!” Seemed silly then, but appropriate now. With Loyola creeping back into the game, having cut the lead to single digits, we found the play of the game. Matt Rum for Loyola ( a very good shooting sophomore) was alone inside for an seemingly easy layup. Out of nowhere, Sean Mosely for the Panthers flew across the lande for the block. The ball then headed out of bounds towards the Loyola bench, or so the lawsof physics seemed to demand. Instead, Niji Hibbert for St. Frances lept over the Loyola bench, right over the players, saving the ball to the Magician (see earlier post). Ahead then to Anthony Oquendo, who must have been so stunned by the play he almost dropped the pass for a layup. He rallied and scored to compl.ete the play of teh game. One more time, Wowie Wow. Oh yeah, the score, 35-21 St. Frances 1:03 left in the 3rd quarter.

8:19 PMDesperation time for Loyola St Frances had the lead built to 15. Credit the Dons, their press caused some problems and cut the lead to ten. But too much speed and size for the Panthers. Sean Mosely nearly took the rim down after a Loyola turnover. His dunk put St. Frances up 45-28 with 1:43 left to play in the game.

8:29 PMSt. Frances held on for the win 47-37. Aric Brooks led all scorers with 15 for the Panthers. Matt Rum hit double figures for the Dons with 11. After the first quarter Loyola basically played St. Frances even, but of course all quarters count the same. Next up for St. Frances, the Panthers earn another shot at top seed Towson Catholic on Tuesday in the MIAA A semifinals. T.C. head coach Josh Pratt watched the game here tonight and saw nothing he didn’t expect. St. Frances has speed to spare, but his Owls certainly own the size department. Hope you enjoyed the game log, thanks for checking in.

This was just too good to pass up. Wizards All Star guard Gilbert Arenas, in the midst of his best season, maybe an MVP season, facing Portland in a game where he guarantees 50 points, it’s not televised, and my blog is named Gilbert’s Arena. Yeah, this trip to DC had to be made.

The reason for the guarantee is downright biblical. Vengeance. Gilbert was left off the Team USA final roster last year and the eccentric stud took if personally. Much of the story is chronicled in Gilbert’s own website. As for the guarantee, the last time he promised to torch a snubber, he did, hanging 51 on the Jazz (Jerry Sloan was on the coaching staff that helped pick Team USA). Although, here we sit with 6:00 already gone in the first quarter and he hasn’t taken a shot. Gilbert has some work to do.

2:10 PM

The first half of this one lived up to the hype about as well as Tony Mandarich. Gilbert, like all the Wizards did virtually nothing as they put up their worst 24 minutes of basketball this season. Against a sorry Trail Blazers team they trail 41-30 at the break. Their 30 point total is about 25 below the season average. And Gilbert, he has six points, the same as teammate Andray Blatche.

Now Gilbert is completely capable of a 44 point 2nd half. But the collective funk with which this team played was like the Orioles in late September. Apparently a 1:00 start on a Sunday is a bad idea for a team that enjoys the nightlife of D.C.

That said, it is nice to see Juan Dixon playing for Portland. He doesn’t start but gets his minutes and as always, if you give him a opening he’ll bury the jumper.

9:45 PM

Sorry for the delay, but it took this long to recuperate from watching that amount of putridity. The Wizards scored a season low 73 points, and stunningly, only nine came from Gilbert Arenas. So what happened? Apparently team mutiny.

The whole going for 50 thing took a third row seat in the Washington mini van compared to the inner turmoil on this team. Even though they sit in the first place the Wizards have some serious problems. The biggest is the absence of Antawn Jamison. His defense, scoring, and leadership will be missed for another three or so weeks thanks to injury.

Add in the ongoing feud between Wizard big men Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas, the latest episode resulted in fisticuffs and a two game suspension for Thomas.

Then there’s the change in philosophy. The Wizards earned their first place standing by running and gunning, averaging the second most points in the NBA. Now head coach Eddie Jordan wants them to slow down and focus on defense. It didn’t work before today with three losses in four games. Then a stern pre-game speech sent the Wizards into complete disarray. They played with the energy of a five watt bulb. With their worst game of the season, they sent a message to their coach, this won’t work.

Jordan didn’t handle the message well. A 20 minute post game scream fest in the locker room was the end result.

Jordan typically meets with the media 10 minutes after the game. We waited. He never showed. Then a Wizards representative announced the locker room was open and that Coach Jordan would be available in the media room following player interviews.

We went in and talked to Gilbert about the loss and his prediction. He handled the discussion well although he failed to give any credit to the Blazers. Instead, his frustration was directed at the “new philosophy”.I think a little humility and acknowledgement that Portland didn’t even let him score until 7:32 of the 2nd quarter would have been appropriate, but at least he was available for comment.

I did ask him if, as long as the new philosophy was in play would he avoid making offensive predictions? His response, with a laugh,

I guess I’ll have to start predicting I’ll get ten steals.

Meanwhile, Eddie Jordan was nowhere to be found. He actually went to the media room, but did so while we were all in the locker room. He then left. And unfortunately, we had to jet ourselves. To prepare for a 6:00 sportscast I needed to be back in Baltimore by about 5:00.

Jordan though did finally meet with the media, and according to a photographer at WRC , Jordan fumed at Arenas’ remarks and thought the line of questioning about it was stupid.

I like the Wizards. When healthy they are fun to watch and put on a good show. But their season heads quickly in the wrong direction. For fun’s sake, I hope they find the off ramp. The stories about grandiose predictions and game winning threes are much more fun.

Thanks for logging on. A great game tonight at Towson University. St. Joe’s and Towson Catholic in a rematch from earlier this week. Granted the Owls have already sown up the regular season MIAA A Championship but with about 2,000 fans in attendance, on a college floor, the atmosphere is ripe for a big game. Three kids have signed letters to major division one schools. TC’s Malcolm Delaney and Donte Green to Virginia Tech and Syracuse respectively. The Gael’s Dino Gregory to Maryland. Lest we forget, or didn’t know, during pregame Donte Green donned a Syracuse warmup. Let’s tip.

7:45 PMA quick start for the Owls, Donte Green (and I’ll keep calling him Donte because of his teammate Brandon Green, no relation) knocked down a smooth jumper and blocked Gregory on a turnaround. Moments later Gregory returned the favor to the unadulterated delight of the St. Joe’s standing student section. Delaney drilled a 3 pointer on the break but for the 2nd time in as many games as I’ve glogged he missed an open dunk. 3:45 to play in the 1st and the Owls lead 12-7.

7:55 PMNote this, at the 2:55 mark of the first quarter Dino Gregory picked up his 3rd foul. At the time Towson Catholic led 12-7. The Owls extended it to 17-7 but the Gaels have responded nicely and I think TC got a little excited about maybe dominating with Gregory out.

Earlier today for the 6:00 news I did a story showcasing all the buzzer beaters we’ve had in just a couple of weeks covering high school hoops. As if on cue, at the end of the first quarter Gaels junior Justin McCoy banked home an off balance 25 foot three pointer, to beat the buzzer. After one, 18-13 Towson Catholic.

8:05 PMHalfway through the 2nd quarter and the Gaels keep hanging around, without Gregory. A big reason for that, ironically, fouls. Nobody in severe trouble for the Owls but St. Joe’s is in the double bonus and at the 2:39 mark they’ve hit 15 of 18 free throws in the game. A one point game 26-25 Towson Catholic. It’s hard to beat a time twice in one week.

8:15 PMWe’ve reached the half where the MVP is scorekeeper and his ability to count fouls. 18 total in the first half and it’s slowing the momentum of the game. Delaney picked up his 3rd with 1:33 left in the first half on a questionable call (easy for me, the play happened five feet in front of me). So despite making just four shots in the first 16 minutes Mt. St. Joe’s only trails 32-27. The Gaels went 17-20 in the half and 12-12 in the 2nd quarter alone. Even I can figure out that’s 85%, or about 10% better than most every NCAA Division One team in the country. For TC, Donte Green leads all scorers with 13. He is fun to watch. A ball handler at 6’8″ who doesn’t mind contact inside. He has a tremendous future.

Incidentally, I don’t know if any of this has actually published yet, blogger.com seems to be having some issues. Regardless, I’m on the clock and typing at a rate without mistakes that fails to come close to that of the Gaels at the charity stripe.

8:30 PMA great exchange between Towson Catholic head coach Josh Pratt and the referee named Dave. Following about four straight calls that went the way of Mt. St. Joe’s. (I’m not implying favoritism that’s just how they went)This exchange taking place at a decibel level of say 103.

“Dave! Dave! Dave! Dave! Dave! Dave!”“What?”“Dave, where was the foul on Malcolm?”“You want a foul?”“Yeah.”“On the layup?”“Yeah.”“No.”

And there you have the 3rd quarter so far. Lots of calls the way of the Owls and some very inspired play by the Gaels’ Dino Gregory. After sitting out most of the first half in foul trouble Gregory is very fresh and playing with a purpose. A huge clean block set the visiting crowd into a tizzy (technical term). Again, despite what I’ve just written about, Towson Catholic leads 45-41 after three quarters.

8:45 PMNot much scoring, in fact not much of anything the first half of the 4th quarter. Nearing the end of a grueling season is taking its toll. Wait a minute, a big three from an unlikely source. Freshman Gael Guard Eric Atkins just reigned home a 22 footer to tie the game at 50. The building once again has life. 4:00 to play in the game.

9:05 PMAnd we have the play of the game, with the Gaels down 3 and less than 20 seconds remaining, Quentin Jones lined up for a three, he seemed open, but Donte Green’s wingspan said otherwise. With the very last bit of his longest finger he blocked the effort. The Owls rebounded and preserved the win.

Even with nothing on the line more than pride, these teams gave a great show. Jamell Walker for Mt. St. Joe’s also looks capable of playing division one ball. Malcolm Delaney led all scorers with 16. Sorry for the blogger.com problems, hope you enjoyed the read.

Let’s set up the day in local college hoops. Just a few teams in action tonight . 1st place Loyola plays at Fairfield and Morgan State tries to shake off a late blown lead at Longwood with a win at Delaware State.

However, it’s fair to say the Bears have a distraction with which to contend. First year MSU coach Todd Bozeman apparently struggled to keep the tough loss on the court. Following the Bears game the team stopped at Mulligan’s restaurant in Farmville, VA to pick up 52 sandwiches for the ride home (the Richmond Times-Dispatch story of the account may be read here). Apparently they weren’t what Bozeman had wanted, and he allegedly kind of flipped out.

Also according to the story the police backed up the claims of the restaurant employees, and a warrant has been issued for misdemeanor assault.

Now in the grand scheme of things, this sound like a guy in a very high stress job that couldn’t find the on switch for his common sense and anger filters. There will be little in the way of legal ramifications.

However, Bozeman can’t afford much of any transgression. He spent the last eight years on NCAA suspension.

It’s unbelievable to think that a guy who swore up and down how grateful he was for a second chance could make such a public scene, bringing bad publicity to the school that gave him a break.

Morgan State has yet to publicly respond to the incident. But privately they must be fuming.

7:10 PMThanks for logging on. The game you voted in this week for the live game log (glog) is Randallstown (9-4) @ New Town (14-0). I hope the jayvee game is a predictor for the varsity. In a last second thriller the Rams knocked off the Titans 34-33.

Even though the schools are so close in proximity they play in different regions and really know little about each other. I spoke to both coaches before the game. Pamela Wright of New Town said she tried to watch the Rams earlier this year but the schedule was wrong. But she doesn’t seem that concerned. When I asked her about the 14-0 record and the possibility of going undefeated she said it’s what they expect. No hesitation. Not a blink of the eye. They expect to win.

As for Randallstown, they have a first year coach in Ellen Fitzkee. That’s a little misleading though. She coached for more than a decade at Towson University so she brings some heavy cred to a program that needed it. The Rams had a losing season last year, but not because of a lack of talent. They just needed some direction. And tonight Fitzkee said because of the confidence and record, New Town is ripe for an upset. Six minutes to tip off.

7:35 PMCoach Fitzkee might be right. The Rams have handled the pressure of New Town thanks to the diminutive Kelsie Singleton. She is tiny but can ball. Very fast and plenty of court vision. Neither team has hit a jumper yet but fast breaks on both side have the game flying. With 3:00 left in the 1st quarter Randallstown leads 10-6. The last three games the Titans have outscored their opponents 194-51.

7: 45PMYou picked another good game. For that, I say thanks. Kelsie Singleton continues to impress. She knocked down a long three and another jumper putting the under dog Rams up 15-6. New Town ended the quarter on a 6-0 run thanks to the stong post play of Lindsey Wallace. Randallstown has nobody on the roster to match up with her size and strength. Getting her the ball enough though is another matter. End of 1st, 15-12 Randallstown.

7:55 PMRandallstown got the Titans attention. Their full attention. And now that they have it, I’m sure they’d like to get back under the radar. New Town’s 2-2-1 press wreaks havoc on the Rams. Turnover after turnover has the Titans on a 25-0 run. And wow do they take advantage of the tunovers, they don’t walk it up the court after a steal. You look up and three Titans are streaking towards the basket. Lindsey Wallace though appears to have sprained an ankle. She limped off at the 4:00 minute mark of the 2nd quarter. 3:15 left, 31-18 Titans.

8:05 PM I don’t know if it was the snow, or a slow dreary day, or what but for the first eight minutes of this game each team looked to have about the same level of speed. The last ten New Town hit the easy button, and took off running. I already talked about the defense but the Titans also pass very well. They all see the floor. New Town leads 39-19 at the half. Brittney Spencer has a game high ten points. Kelsie Singleton leads the Rams with eight.

8:25 PMThe 3rd quarter looks pretty much like the 2nd. New Town still rolls. What’s interesting to watch now is how the coaches handle themselves. Ellen Fitzkee and Pamela Wright have stayed the same throughout. Each communicates without screaming and the players all seem to listen. It’s not a lack of intensity. Just a refreshing level of common sense. Guys coaches scream at all levels at all times. I did it too as a jayvee coach in Biglerville, PA. It’s what everyone else so why not. Women just seem to understand it’s not a law to scream during a game. 2:30 left in the 3rd. 54-29 Randallstown.

8:35 PMThe pace has slowed a bit as you’ expect. The intensity just isn’t there anymore from either team. Makes sense the Titans have a 30 point lead with less than 5:00 to play. That said they’re not just going through the motions. It’s mostly starters for both teams still in the game and the Titans continue to press, although again with a little less intensity.

The Regional Tournaments are played at the top seed’s gym. Expect a lot of games here at New Town come playoff time. 65-35 Titans with 4:33 to play.

8:48 PMWith the sluggish start behind them, the Titans roll on with the perfect season intact. New Town improves to 15-0 with an 82-44 win. Peju Awodipe had a big 2nd half totalling a game high 21 points. Tyra Breaux had 17 for the Titans. Kelsie Singleton led the Rams with 12. Even though Randallstown lost by 38, the Rams actually scored more than all but two teams against the Titans this year. Two minutes after game time and they’ve turned off the lights so I’m out of here. Hope you enjoyed the glog and make sure to vote next week.

Towson men’s head basketball coach Pat Kennedy gets it. You want to know how he’s once again building a winner? Not just by recruiting some of the areas best. Not just by creating a culture of winning. But most importantly, by doing the right thing.

Last week Kennedy helped set up a halftime exhibition between a pair of Special Olympics basketball teams. The game plan included introductions of the teams and then an eight minute game. There was a little delay in getting things going, and then the introductions though ran a bit long. The eight minutes of game time quickly turned into four. The problem then became getting all of the players into the game.

One young man took it particularly hard that he never got to play. Sam McDaniel really wanted to take the court, and then really fumed afterwards.

Here’s where Kennedy comes in. After asking how the exhibition went, and learning of Sam’s frustration, he has set it up for McDaniel to serve as towel boy and sit on the bench with the Tigers in an upcoming home game.

Cool. Very, very cool. Nice job Pat, and maybe you can teach some of your coaching brethren to “get it”.